Chianti Classico latest releases: Full report

First produced in 1962, Il Poggio is an iconic Chianti Classico that stands the test of time. The Bianchi family puts aside 2,000 bottles each vintage in its extensive underground tunnel for release at least 10 years later. Still nascent, the 2015 slowly divulges stunning aromas of cherry blossom, blood orange, eucalyptus, and raspberry. It starts out tight and linear then unravels expanding across the palate with ripe woodland berries underscored by slate. Chalky tannins maintain a firm grip throughout. This will continue to deliver its complex nuances for at least a couple of decades.

Giovanni Manetti calls 2016 the new benchmark. The summer was dry and warm without extreme heat and leading up to harvest, the nights cooled down substantially. His Vigna del Sorbo is one of the top wines among a robust set of stellar offerings from this outstanding vintage. It is remarkable for the freshness and purity that rises above the concentration and density. A mix of smoke, liquorice , black cherry and thyme emerges slowly. Even in their commanding grip, the tannins are perfectly polished and sophisticated. Full, packed with fruit but with incredible agility and lip-smacking tanginess, this lingers with fragrant earth, tobacco and crushed stone. For the long-haul.

The Colonia parcel sits at the top of Fèlsina's Poggio a Rancia vineyard on an extremely rocky outcrop. South facing and reaching upwards of 400 metres above sea level, it is enclosed by forest. Aged exclusively in new fine-grain, medium toast French oak barriques, this has the power and depth to effortlessly absorb the wood. It exudes the untamed generosity of Tuscany's countryside with baked earth, dried thyme plum, and succulent dark cherry punctuated by savoury spice and incense. While immediately seductive in its charms, structurally this could use some more time in the bottle as those vigorous chalky tannins build artfully across the palate.

Badia a Passignano's 65 hectares sit at 300 metres above sea level on limestone rich clay in the area of San Casciano Val di Pesa. A selection of the best bunches of Sangiovese, the 2016 Gran Selezione is gorgeous, yet discreet rather than flashy. It is also immediately appealing with lovely clarity of red cherry and violets. Savoury hints of iron and stone emerge on the palate. This boasts silky sophisticated tannins, a tactile powdery texture, beautifully integrated oak and vibrant acidity. A elegantly balanced package.

A selection made from the San Marcellino vineyard which includes a plot of 50-year-old vines. The soil here is extremely rocky, composed mainly of alberese - a hard marl rich in calcium carbonate which tends to give deeply coloured wines. There is a lot to love in this wine. Enticing red and black currants are demurely nuanced with toast and spice. Ample and mouth filling without being heavy, the palate is abundantly layered with velvety textured tannins. Purity of fruit is preserved throughout and this finishes with mouth-watering salinity.

Owner and winemaker, Paula Papini Cook vinifies and ages each of her plots separately. The Gran Selezione always comes from the same plot which was planted to a single clone of Sangiovese in 2000. The 2016 vintage is just lovely. It boasts a fresh herbal lift to layers of ripe sweet pristine fruit. Wild berries and forest undergrowth give plenty of depth while juicy acid refreshes the palate. The tannins are neatly sculpted and the finish vibrates with minerality. Only 1,000 bottles made.

Oenologist Marco Pallanti chose not to make Castello di Ama's single vineyard Bellavista and La Casuccia bottlings in 2017 as he felt the excessively hot conditions gave slightly aggressive tannins. Instead, he focused on making the best possible selection from all vineyards to go into the San Lorenzo Gran Selezione. It opens with lots of dusty cherry, dry earth and sweet thyme. Well-stacked with round fruit, the palate is lifted by pressed violet nuances. Assertive but polished tannins give definition, the wood is understated and acidity bright and integrated. Besides deft balance, San Lorenzo demonstrates admirable elegance and is a great success in this challenging vintage.

Monica Raspi crafts her Riserva from a single vineyard of the estate's oldest vines which were planted in 2000. East-facing, it sits at 350 metres and the soil is lean and rocky with lots of calcium carbonate deposits. Subtly fragrant, this seduces slowly but surely whispering of raspberry, cherry and thyme blossom. The palate is wonderfully elegant offering a stony minerality and a tangy, hunger inducing backbone. Terracotta-like tannins sneak up enfolding rather than subverting the fruit.

Querciabella's 10,000 bottle annual production Riserva is a selection of superior lots. It blends fruit from Greve where their vineyards range from 350 to 550 metres, with grapes from Radda's high altitude stony sites and Gaiole's limestone rich soils. The 2016 is restrained but precise. Intriguing scents of spring blossoms, cranberry bush and potting soil are subtly laced with vanilla and smoke. Very polished and pure on palate with mouth-watering, tangy acidity and sinewy tannins. This sophisticated, buttoned-up Riserva could do with another year in the bottle.

Brothers Andrea and Alessandro Sderci first produced Grosso Sanese as a 100% Sangiovese IGT in 1981. It comes from a two-hectare vineyard on compact soil consisting of galestro and albarese and ages in French oak barriques, of which approximately 30% are new. Smoke, tobacco and fragrant moist earth weave through ripe red cherry. Powerful yet polished on palate where round sumptuous fruit meets succulent acidity and muscular sinewy tannins. This wine generally requires some time in the bottle to fully expressive its exotic sensuous personality.

Sa'etta comes from a single vineyard planted in the 60s on compact sandstone rich in quartz, known locally as pietraforte. Michael Schmelzer calls 2016 a classic and fresh year which yielded particularly small concentrated bunches. It is discreet on the nose opening slowing to offer precise aromas of clove, flint, winter mint and moist earth. Savoury rather than fruity, the palate is equally tight with a firm backbone of chiselled tannins and succulent acidity. Very promising.

The Riserva is crafted from a selection of the best grapes throughout all eight of Castello della Paneretta's parcels in three distinct areas. Aged in used French oak casks of various sizes, this is wonderfully fragrant. Alpine flowers mingle with pepper, rosemary and mint. Perfumed nuances persist on the palate where layers of fruit are buttressed up by a firm backbone. Quite lovely and succulent with lingering orange peel on the finish. Hard to resist now. The bottle bears the original label which the Albisetti family found in the estate when they purchased it 36 years ago.

Il Molino di Grace's 20 hectares fan out around the estate in single undulating unit on predominantly galestro soil. In superior years, a selection of the best lots is used to produce Il Margone. Aged in a combination of new and second use French barriques and tonneaux, this offers expressive and well-delineated aromas allying sweet wood spice with tarragon and fennel soaked cherry and an undertow of violet. It has all the necessary fruit concentration for ageing along with smooth ample tannins.

Rocca di Castagnoli is one of Chianti Classico's historic properties. It once belonged to the Baron Ricasoli empire, for example, and this Gran Selezione is crafted from a site that was planted to vines at least as long ago as 1153. Wafts of vanilla mingle with cherry bark, liquorice root and balsam flowers. Upfront chewy tannins wrap around mellowed fruit while succulent acidity ups the ante. Flavours are ready but the structure needs time.

Surrounded by forest, the Istine vineyard is located between the towns of Radda and Castellina. The northwest facing site sits between 480 to 550 metres and is very rocky with a mixture of alberese, galestro and quartz. It offers a captivating fusion of raspberry, cherry and mint with earthy truffle nuances. The palate is tangy and buoyant introducing hints of orange peel and pomegranate. Fine-framed tannins contain the whole. While beautifully expressive now, this will continue to refine over the next decade or so.

Castell'in Villa was originally purchased as a weekend retreat in 1968. An avid gardener and talented taster, proprietress Princess Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa has been crafting singular Chianti Classico ever since. She holds her wine back a few years and has just released the 2015. It has a bit more weight to it than previous vintages but the unfussy, traditional style is unwavering. Notes of terracotta, chamomile, baked herbs, flint and underbrush lead to a dusty fruit core and chalky tannins cling to the palate. It is an introspective wine, though not austere, and will express itself slowly over the next decade or so.

Piero Lanza's Poggerino is a hot bed of investigation in how various clones of Sangiovese react to the Radda terroir, and delivering fantastic fruit evidenced by the cru 'Bugialla'. Fermented in concrete tanks, kept on the skins for a month and then aged in large oak casks, displays substance of tangy fruit and sculpted tannins that gain traction on a long finish. It will easily age for a decade or more.

Sourced from Susanna Grassi's oldest plantings, at 550 metres in the cool reaches of Lamole. While past bottlings have included a pinch of Canaiolo, the 2016 is Sangiovese in purezza. And it is indeed a lovely, pure expression. Spring blossoms, white pepper, wild cherry and fresh forest floor persist from start to finish. Silky in texture with powdery fine-boned tannin clinging to the palate. A sapid tanginess carries the finish.

Roberto Bianchi, a former German language translator with no previous knowledge of winemaking, took over the small estate after his father's death in the 1999. Leaning on Sean O'Callagan for advice, recently the estate shot to fame with its elegant, almost cool-climate style of Chianti Classico produced from north-east-facing vineyards. This 100% Sangiovese with a tight, minerally nose and expressive raspberry palate showing great depth as well as vibrancy.

A blend of superlative grapes from three high altitude vineyard sites - Vigna Casanova dell'Aia and Vigna Istine in Radda and Vigna Cavarchione in Gaiole. Rather than being a superior expression to the single vineyard bottlings of these, Istine's Riserva is a panorama of the three. The 2016 is initially discreet in aromas with subtle spring blossom, cherry and flint building in the glass. Iron and balsamic nuances join in on the palate. Shyly seductive and savoury, this allies great depth of fruit and clayey tannins with Sangiovese's fabulous lightness of being.

In 2017, Giovanni Poggiali describes the work in the vineyard as focused on the vines' root system to reduce water stress. Harvest started 15 days earlier than average and at the beginning of September he did a qualitative thinning to get rid of any shrivelled bunches or those showing problems with ripening. Fèlsina's flagship wine, Rancia is still brooding. Plum and tar show up on a backdrop of vanilla and exotic spice. Though fruit is supple, layers of assertive tannins need time to loosen their grip. Appetizingly savoury, this finishes with an intense, irony character.

Carobbio's Riserva brings together three specific plots at altitudes ranging from 350 to 420 metres. One sits on galestro, another on compacted limestone called alberese and the third on heavier clay. Each is vinified and aged separately before blending. With a released date of September 2020, the 2015 is still quite closed. Plenty of coaxing brings out liquorice, black cherry and sweet tobacco. Round plush fruit is concentrated on the core and securely fastened by ripe chewy tannin. Oak is integrated lending subtle spice and sandalwood nuances to the finish. Needs time to fully express.

April's frost resulted in less productive vines. Giovanni Manetti saw this as an advantage in the drought-like conditions of summer. He explains that with fewer grapes, the vines suffered less stress and were able to continue ripening without shutting down. Initial scents of baked clay and dry earth make way for mint blossom and cherry. Clingy, muscular tannins wrap around dusty fruit with nuances of rust and cinnamon poking through and the acidity is remarkably racy and ripe.

Istine's single vineyard bottlings are a delicious study in Chianti Classico's diverse terroir. Close to the town of Radda, Casanova dell'Aia is the Fronti family's historical vineyard but was replanted between 2014 to 2018. It is characterised by a warm southwest exposure at a cool 500 metres in altitude. The soil is predominantly hard, limestone-like alberese soil with clay. Scents of heady violets, lavender and pepper join crunchy ripe red currant on the trim and willowy palate. Light weight but self-assured, this rings out with brilliant transparency right through to the long piercing finish.

Besides managing his father's Poggio Scalette estate, Jurij Fiore started a new project with his daughter Sara in 2015. Together they craft microscopic quantities from 1.8 hectares in the area of Lamole. Porcacciamiseria comes from 70-year-old vines (Sangiovese with Colorino, Canaiolo Nero and other native grapes) grown at 645 metres. Pungently aromatic, this bursts with a bouquet of spring flowers, cherry and red currant. Mid-weight but packed with chalky tannins and a mouth cleansing structure, it is a precise and lively 2017. Finishes with a cranberry tang.

Sitting at 600 metres above sea level and surrounded by forest, Fontodi's vineyards in the area of Lamole are much cooler than the estate's holdings in Panzano. Even in 2017, harvest didn't begin until October. It emerges from it shell slowly then offers an exquisite bouquet of fresh flowers and herbs. There is great focus here and an invigorating backbone of acidity piercing through dark currants. At the moment, tannins are still firm and imposing. Give this another year in the bottle.

Marco Bacci has owned this expansive Castelnuovo Berardenga property since 1998 and has significantly increased the Gran Selezione production since the inaugural 2013 vintage - from 10,000 to 50,000 bottles. The 2016 release is robust and big-boned but with a savoury and mellow personality. It is dominated by intriguing nuances of mushroom, spice and blood. Firm tannins keep the soft fruit in check while measured acidity injects vibrancy. Some warming alcohol on finish.

One of Bertani Domains' six estates in Italy, San Leonino is located in the southern reaches of Castellina-in-Chianti. Rather than a single vineyard, the Gran Selezione is crafted from selected grapes coming from the highest vineyard sites. It is quite a charmer. Bright and well-defined showing pretty cherry and red plum underscored by white pepper and mint blossom. A full charged of fruit is backed by polished, fine-boned tannins. It won't be a long ager but will give plenty of pleasure with its delicious purity.

Puro' refers not just to the fact that this is made from 100% Sangiovese, but also that the vines represent 25 clones native to the area of Volpaia. They are grown in a small plot of the estate's south facing Casanova vineyard. Aged in 100% new French barriques, this leads with freshly ground coffee and sandalwood then reveals licorice, lavender and red cherry. The palate is sophisticated and smooth with fine svelte tannins and a racy core.

Owned by Piemontese Carlo Novarese, Carobbio is tucked away amid forest and olive groves in the hills of Panzano. Since coming onboard to manage the property in 2013, Dario Faccin has increased the vineyards from 8 to 15 hectares, planting with diverse clones to match the estate's varied soils. This is a subtle wine that demands some time and attention. It slowly reveals a tangle of thyme flower, fennel, tarragon and ginestra. With a vertical expression on the palate, tannins are up front but refined wrapping around trim, dusty fruit. Tangy and long on the finish.

The second vintage of this wine, Vigneto Boscone hails from a single vineyard planted in 1988. At over 400 metres, it is the highest plot on the estate and the soil is very rich in limestone. Fermented and aged in cement vats, this offers lovely purity. Crunchy woodland berries and fresh cut lavender are wrapped in moist earth. Vibrant and mid-weight, it cleanses the palate with ripe pliable fruit tannin. Only 3,200 bottles produced.

Badia a Coltibuono traces its history back to the 11th century when Vallombrosian monks founded the abbey and started planting the area's first vineyards. The Stucchi Prinetti family who now own the property have bottles of Riserva dating back to 1937. Rounded out with a dollop of Canaiolo Nero, Ciliegiolo and Colorino, it is uncluttered by oak nuances. Accented by strawberry, juniper and tarragon, it glides smoothly across the palate with tame, chalky tannins and dusty black cherry on the finish. Accessible now, this has in bones to age gracefully over the next decade. I always appreciate the steadfast, recognisable personality of Coltibuono's elegant Riserva.

In 1991 Luca and Valeria Orsini left their jobs in Milan to make wine in Tuscany. Their estate includes 10 hectares of southeast facing vineyards in Panzano and the wines have been certified organic from 2000. A standout 2016 annata, this is discreet with understated scents of cherry blossom, heather and rose. The palate is decidedly red fruited with currants and raspberry embraced by finely textured, powdery persistent tannins. It has beautiful energy and above all allows Sangiovese's true charms to shine through.

Castagnoli's 2017 Riserva is a painstaking selection including multiple passages to avoid harvesting any dried but unripe grapes. In some parcels, they picked bunches on the exposed southern side of the row first, leaving the higher quality grapes on the north side to continue ripening. Restrained mocha, cinnamon and toast compliment ripe red berries. Mid-weight, crisp and unforced this builds slowly with compact fruit sneaking up and leading to a powerful finish.